International Relations News

Working-level negotiations to be held on the establishment of a UN office on North Korean human rights in Seoul

10/08/2014SMG1383

In accordance with an official request for cooperation received on September 16 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea on establishing a UN office in Seoul to investigate North Korean human rights violations, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will be engaging in working-level negotiations regarding the establishment of the office in the Seoul Global Center building.

The working-level discussions on establishing the UN office will take place with the close cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea in Geneva.

The plans for the establishment of the UN office began with a recommendation by the UN Commission of Inquiry on North Korean human rights in February 2013, with discussions beginning in earnest after the Korean government accepted the request from the OHCHR to establish the office in Korea.